while the rain continues to keep me in a mellower state than usual, restaurant week has kicked off with a bang. the first stop on this 2-week restaurant roll: simon LA.
situated inside the sofitel hotel, this place is a dream in terms of interior design. as soon as you walk in the main entrance, you make a right down a long hallway. strolling towards the restaurant at the end, you pass through the lounge, which looks like it's probably hoppin' most nights b/c it's just that cool. a cross b/w asian & modern decor, you automatically feel like you should have a vodka martini and a cigarette in hand. (and everyone knows i can't drink and i hate smoking. so it must be THAT impressive.)
the decor in the restaurant is just as interesting to the eye, with funky lights dangling over the tables and ornate metal dividers separating the booths from each other. while we were seated in a booth on the side near the windows, you could still see the semi-open kitchen. which is always cool b/c i love watching dishes being put together on the line. (there's just something about the speed and agility that makes the whole process really exciting.)
while i'd already mentioned it in my reservation, i made sure to let the host know that we'd come in for their dineLA menu (which all websites have specifically suggested to do). even though chiara and de'sha had yet to arrive, he seated lorelle and me right away. and as we were tucking ourselves into the booth, he even offered to store our soaking wet umbrellas. probably a good idea for the furniture's sake, but a sign of good service nonetheless.
rather than just giving us the dineLA menu, the host offered the regular menu as well. in jerry and teresa's opinion, prix-fixe options generally tend toward mediocrity. (which means that they've decided to forego restaurant week in san diego -- sadness.) while i concur w/their opinion, it doesn't necessarily stop me from going to restaurants i wouldn't have gone to otherwise. though it does somewhat mitigate the excitement of the experience.
thankfully, simon LA's dineLA menu wasn't too shabby. however, the options were still pretty basic. i ordered the endive/pear/walnut salad for my appetizer, the chicken & steak tacos (one chicken, one steak) for my entree, and the blueberry crumble for my dessert. though all of them were yummy, i have to say that i wasn't particularly impressed with the food.
what i WAS impressed by was the QUART of decaf that they gave me in a giant french press, as well as the "random" cotton candy (as articulated by lorelle) that came out at the end of the meal. i mean, who does that?! (supposedly, their gold bathroom was also pretty impressive. i didn't utilize the facilities, but i'm sure the ladies will have some comments to make.)
i suppose that brunch is a hard meal to do well. there's something about not having eggs that makes brunch incomplete. i suppose i might've responded better to the same exact meal as a weekday lunch? in any case, i felt like something was lacking, plus having dessert at the end of what i'd consider a semi-morning meal just did me in. i know i shouldn't have had it (or finished it for that matter), but who can pass up a blueberry crumble (WITH ice cream) that comes with a $22 fancy schmancy meal?
to be honest, simon LA wasn't stuffy at all. that might have to do with the fact that it's in the sofitel, so folks could just as easily have been coming to brunch from their rooms as from out in the rain. i suppose brunch is also more casual than dinner (which i'd love to try here at some point). it seems like chefs always try to do more w/dinner options b/c they're actually trying to impress. kerry simon looked great on the iron chef, but i'll have to wait and see what his dinner menu has to offer before i make any final decisions.
the lunch menu (dineLA and otherwise) is a bit typical, so check out the dinner menu instead. but be warned that the restaurant doesn't have its menus online, so you'll have to take a leap of faith and dive right into a dinner reservation.
Simon LA, Sofitel LA
8555 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
310.278.5444
http://www.sofitel.com/sofitel/fichehotel/gb/sof/0937/fiche_restaurant.shtml
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